[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 158 (Thursday, August 15, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 53314-53317]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-20745]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[FL-85-1-200107a; FRL-7259-6]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Florida: 
Approval of Revisions to the Florida State Implementation Plan

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving revisions to the Florida State Implementation 
Plan (SIP) submitted on August 29, 2000, by the State of Florida 
through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). This 
submittal consists of revisions to the ozone air quality maintenance 
plan for the Tampa area (Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties) to remove 
the emission reduction credits attributable to the Motor Vehicle 
Inspection Program (MVIP) from the future year emission projections 
contained in those plans. This revision updates the control strategy 
for the Tampa maintenance area by removing emissions credit for the 
MVIP, and as such, transportation conformity must be redetermined by 
the Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) within 18 months of the 
final approval of this document.

DATES: This direct final rule is effective October 15, 2002, without 
further notice, unless EPA receives relevant adverse comment by 
September 16, 2002. If relevant adverse comment is received, EPA will 
publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal 
Register and inform the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: All comments should be addressed to Joey LeVasseur at the 
EPA, Region 4 Air Planning Branch, 61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, 
Georgia 30303-8960.
    Copies of the State submittal are available at the following 
addresses for inspection during normal business hours:

Environmental Protection Agency, Atlanta Federal Center, Region 4 Air 
Planning Branch, 61 Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960
Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Twin Towers Office 
Building, 2600 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joey LeVasseur at 404/562-9035 (e-
mail: [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following sections: Background, Analysis 
of the State's Submittal, and Final action, provide additional 
information concerning the revision to the ozone air quality 
maintenance plan for the Tampa area to remove the emission reduction 
credits attributable to the MVIP from the future year emission 
projections contained in that plan.

I. Background

    Upon enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the Tampa, 
Florida area was designated as nonattainment for the one-hour ozone 
national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) and classified as 
marginal. On November 16, 1992, the State of Florida submitted 
comprehensive inventories for volatile organic compound (VOC), oxides 
of nitrogen (NOX), and carbon monoxide emissions from the 
Tampa area. The inventories include biogenic,

[[Page 53315]]

area, stationary, and mobile source emissions using 1990 as the base 
year for calculations to demonstrate NAAQS attainment and maintenance. 
The 1990 inventory is considered representative of attainment 
conditions because the one-hour ozone NAAQS was not violated during 
1990. By 1993, the Tampa area was able to demonstrate attainment of the 
one-hour ozone NAAQS and was able to show compliance with other 
requirements of the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA) for 
redesignation.
    On February 7, 1995, the State of Florida through the FDEP 
requested that the Tampa area be redesignated from a marginal ozone 
nonattainment area to attainment. The approval of the ozone maintenance 
plan into the SIP, in conjunction with EPA's redesignation of the area 
to attainment with respect to the 1-hour ozone NAAQS, was published on 
December 7, 1995 (60 FR 62748), and became effective on February 5, 
1996 (40 CFR 81.310).
    The ozone maintenance plan for the area, developed pursuant to 
section 175A of the CAA and approved in the SIP, accounted for the MVIP 
in the mobile source emissions projections. The MVIP was a centralized 
basic inspection and maintenance program. The program utilized an idle 
emissions test to monitor vehicles' emission compliance. Due to the 
fact that the Tampa area was marginal, the MVIP was a voluntary program 
and was not required by the CAA.

II. Analysis of State's Submittal

    On August 29, 2000, the FDEP submitted a revision to the SIP for 
the ozone air quality maintenance plan for the Tampa, Florida, area to 
remove the emission reduction credits attributable to the MVIP from the 
future year emission projections contained in that plan. Specifically 
this action involves a recalculation of the motor vehicle emissions 
budgets (budgets) for the area using the MOBILE5b model and eliminating 
the credit for the MVIP. The FDEP is requesting approval of amendments 
to the Tampa Bay maintenance plan to provide explicit transportation 
conformity budgets for Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. In the 
current maintenance plan, no budgets are specified; hence, the original 
year 2005 mobile source emissions projections that were made by each 
county are being used as transportation conformity budgets by default. 
The conformity process will be clarified by the establishment of 
specific budgets for each county in this revised maintenance plan.
    The Transportation Conformity regulations, promulgated on November 
24, 1993, established the criteria and procedures for determining 
conformity of transportation activities to the SIP. Under these 
provisions and Title I of the CAA, states may revise their emissions 
budgets at any time through the standard SIP revision process, provided 
that the revised emissions budgets will not adversely affect attainment 
and maintenance of the ozone NAAQS for any milestone year in the 
required time frame. The conformity rule provides states with the 
option to revise the emissions budgets to reallocate emissions among 
sources or between pollutants and their precursors so long as this 
budget maintains total emissions for the area below the attainment 
inventory levels.
    In addition, the SIP revision must not have an adverse impact on 
maintenance of the NAAQS for any criteria pollutant. Guidance on this 
issue is contained in a memorandum dated September 17, 1993, from 
Michael Shapiro, Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation 
entitled, ``State Implementation Plan Requirements for Areas Submitting 
Requests for Redesignation to Attainment of the Ozone and Carbon 
Monoxide National Ambient Air Quality Standards on or after November 
15, 1992.'' This memo states:
    As a general policy, a State may not relax the adopted and 
implemented SIP upon the area's redesignation to attainment. States 
should continue to implement existing control strategies in order to 
maintain the standard. However, section 175A recognizes that States may 
be able to move SIP measures to the contingency plan upon redesignation 
if the State can adequately demonstrate that such action will not 
interfere with maintenance of the standard.
    The following table contains the projected emission levels taking 
into account the removal of the MVIP.

                Total 2.--County (Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties) Emissions Inventory Summary
                                                 [Tons per day]
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                                                          VOC                                 NOX
                Category                 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             1990        2000        2005        1990        2000        2005
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Stationary Point........................       17.69       21.49       21.49      319.74      190.17      107.25
Stationary Area.........................      100.19      114.34      120.13        9.99       11.48       12.08
On-Road Mobile..........................      158.50       86.30       85.10      121.50      101.00       95.70
Non-Road Mobile.........................       51.14       46.64       39.07       58.53       71.55       71.35
Biogenic................................      194.70      194.70      194.70        1.80        1.80        1.80
                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................      522.22      463.47      460.49      511.56      376.00      288.18
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    The next table shows the projected 2005 VOC and NOX 
emissions with and without the MVIP.

                           Tampa Florida Area--Projected 2005 Mobile Source Emissions
                                                 [Tons per day]
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                                                                   With MVIP                 Without MVIP
                         County                          -------------------------------------------------------
                                                               VOC           NOX           VOC           NOX
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Hillsborough County.....................................          42.3          55.8          47.4          56.8
Pinellas County.........................................          33.5          38.2          37.7          38.9
                                                         -------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................................          75.8          93.9          85.1          95.7
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[[Page 53316]]

    The projected emissions for on road mobile sources continue to be 
less than the level of emissions in 1990, a year for which the area was 
in attainment. Therefore Florida has demonstrated that the area can 
maintain the one-hour ozone NAAQS without the implementation of the 
MVIP. The EPA has reviewed the State's emissions inventory and modeling 
analyses and finds that they meet applicable guidance and requirements. 
Therefore, the State has made the necessary demonstration that the MVIP 
is not necessary to maintain the one-hour ozone NAAQS and that 
attainment of the NAAQS for any other pollutant will not be affected by 
removing the MVIP from the SIP. In accordance with EPA's November 15, 
1992, policy, the State must include the MVIP as a contingency measure 
in the maintenance plan for the redesignated area, which it has done.
    The following table lists the revised budgets for each county. The 
motor vehicle emission budgets are derived as a percentage of the 1990 
on road emissions inventories. Upon final EPA approval, these budgets 
are to be used by the local metropolitan planning organizations and 
transportation authorities to assure that transportation plans, 
programs, and projects are consistent with, and conform to, the long-
term maintenance of the NAAQS in the Tampa area.
    The State is allowed to allocate up to 100 percent of the 1990 on-
road emissions inventory for use as the motor vehicle emissions budget. 
Pursuant to 40 CFR part 51, subpart T, the Transportation Conformity 
rule, Sec. 51.456(b), a specific emissions budget is here defined for 
the on-road mobile sources portion of the emissions inventory. These 
budgets are to be used by the local MPOs and transportation authorities 
to assure that transportation plans, programs, and projects are 
consistent with, and conform to, the long-term maintenance of 
acceptable air quality in the Tampa Bay area. Specific emissions 
budgets are set for VOC and NOX in the following table.

           Tampa Florida Area--Motor Vehicle Emissions Budget
                             [Tons per day]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
               County                        VOC               NOX
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hillsborough County.................             54.05             71.24
Pinellas County.....................             33.38             42.01
                                     -----------------------------------
    Total...........................             87.43            113.25
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The local MPOs must redetermine conformity within 18 months of the 
effective date for this SIP revision. This is required because the 
existing conformity determinations considered emission reduction 
credits from the MVIP control strategy.

Final Action

    EPA is approving the aforementioned changes to the SIP. The EPA is 
publishing this rule without prior proposal because the Agency views 
this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse 
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal 
Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document that will 
serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should adverse 
comments be filed. This rule will be effective October 15, 2002, 
without further notice unless the Agency receives adverse comments by 
September 16, 2002.
    If the EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a document 
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will 
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in 
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. The EPA will not 
institute a second comment period. Parties interested in commenting 
should do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public 
is advised that this rule will be effective on October 15, 2002, and no 
further action will be taken on the proposed rule. Please note that if 
we receive adverse comment on an amendment, paragraph, or section of 
this rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of 
the rule, we may adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are 
not the subject of an adverse comment.

III. Administrative Requirements

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not 
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. For this 
reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211, 
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). This action 
merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes 
no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. 
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because 
this rule approves pre-existing requirements under state law and does 
not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by 
state law, it does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4).
    This rule also does not have tribal implications because it will 
not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on 
the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or 
on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal 
Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 
FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This action also does not have Federalism 
implications because it does not have substantial direct effects on the 
States, on the relationship between the national government and the 
States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the 
various levels of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132 (64 
FR 43255, August 10, 1999). This action merely approves a state rule 
implementing a Federal standard, and does not alter the relationship or 
the distribution of power and responsibilities established in the Clean 
Air Act. This rule also is not subject to Executive Order 13045 
``Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety 
Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically 
significant.
    In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. In 
this context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the 
State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority 
to disapprove a SIP submission for

[[Page 53317]]

failure to use VCS. It would thus be inconsistent with applicable law 
for EPA, when it reviews a SIP submission, to use VCS in place of a SIP 
submission that otherwise satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air 
Act. Thus, the requirements of section 12(d) of the National Technology 
Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. 
This rule does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.).
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other 
required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by October 15, 2002. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule 
does not affect the finality of this rule for the purposes of judicial 
review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial 
review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such 
rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings 
to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

J.I. Palmer, Jr.,
Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    Part 52 of chapter I, title 40, Code of Federal Regulations is 
amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart K--Florida

    2. Section 52.520 paragraph (e) is amended by adding a new entry at 
the end of the table to read as follows:


Sec. 52.520  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) EPA-approved Florida non-regulatory provisions.

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          Provision              State effective date         EPA approval date                   Federal Register notice                 Explanation
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                   *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *                  *
Revision to Maintenance Plan   July 9, 2000...........  August 15, 2002.............  [Insert cite of publication]..................
 for the Tampa, Florida Area.
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[FR Doc. 02-20745 Filed 8-14-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P